Post by caseyr7 on Nov 11, 2007 21:25:48 GMT -5
The Soul Control of a Crisis: Leaders’ manipulations of the crises
When crisis presents itself in society, fear and anxiety come forth accordingly. The general consensus will turn to a leader to guide them in the event of such a crisis, shown throughout history. In the Puritan community of the origins of America, Sacvan Bercovitch stated that “Anxiety became their chief means of establishing control. The errand, after all, was by definition a state of unfulfillment, and only a sense of crisis, properly directed and controlled, could guarantee the outcome” (Bercovitch 34). The idea that a crisis is necessary to progress in a never-ending errand is
inherent throughout society. Crisis not only encourages the need for action, but allows for the manipulation of the consensus by a controlling leader.
Shown in The Crucible by Author Miller, the crisis of diabolism within the Puritan community spurred the short-lived answer of hanging the “witches”. Abigail Williams was able to manipulate the consensus during the crisis because of the accusations she made that provided solace for a period of time to the community. The community not only welcomed her accusations, but also welcomed the court’s convictions at first. The actions of the leaders of the consensus at the time, Abigail and Danforth, were encouraged and necessary due to the crisis brought forth by diabolism.
In modern American history, terrorism has presented itself as the main crisis in society. Actions prompted by this crisis of terrorism which America felt on September 11, 2001, when Al Qaeda flew planes into the World Trade Center, were also short-lived solutions made by our president. Not only fighting a war on terror, President Bush was also able to pass the Military Commissions Act in 2006, which established that "unlawful enemy combatants," or people who had no right to be taking part in a specific conflict, were not eligible to be tried to get out of prison. The “unlawful enemy combatants” consist of potential terrorists, who, even with no solid of their involvement in such conflicts, are forced to stay in prison. Bush used the crisis of terrorism, as Danforth and Abigail utilized the crisis of diabolism, to pass such unconstitutional acts as a means of security to the nation.
Most recently, a detainee in the prison of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on United States territory, is being held for the reason of being an "unlawful enemy combatant.” Although solid proof of the detainee’s, Omar Khadr, involvement in war crimes for his role in an attack on U.S. soldiers is nonexistent, he has been kept there since November of 2002. Similar to the “ipso facto” reason in The Crucible for allowing Danforth to keep “witches” within jail, the lack of validity of evidence against the detainee is pushed aside due to the crisis and need for security. Though no concrete proof holds him in Guantanamo, the current crisis was enough to call for action, in which the president enforced his power to contain the detainee from the Military Commissions Act.
Word count: 489
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-khadr9nov09,1,6141237.story?track=rss&ctrack=2&cset=true
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061017.html
When crisis presents itself in society, fear and anxiety come forth accordingly. The general consensus will turn to a leader to guide them in the event of such a crisis, shown throughout history. In the Puritan community of the origins of America, Sacvan Bercovitch stated that “Anxiety became their chief means of establishing control. The errand, after all, was by definition a state of unfulfillment, and only a sense of crisis, properly directed and controlled, could guarantee the outcome” (Bercovitch 34). The idea that a crisis is necessary to progress in a never-ending errand is
inherent throughout society. Crisis not only encourages the need for action, but allows for the manipulation of the consensus by a controlling leader.
Shown in The Crucible by Author Miller, the crisis of diabolism within the Puritan community spurred the short-lived answer of hanging the “witches”. Abigail Williams was able to manipulate the consensus during the crisis because of the accusations she made that provided solace for a period of time to the community. The community not only welcomed her accusations, but also welcomed the court’s convictions at first. The actions of the leaders of the consensus at the time, Abigail and Danforth, were encouraged and necessary due to the crisis brought forth by diabolism.
In modern American history, terrorism has presented itself as the main crisis in society. Actions prompted by this crisis of terrorism which America felt on September 11, 2001, when Al Qaeda flew planes into the World Trade Center, were also short-lived solutions made by our president. Not only fighting a war on terror, President Bush was also able to pass the Military Commissions Act in 2006, which established that "unlawful enemy combatants," or people who had no right to be taking part in a specific conflict, were not eligible to be tried to get out of prison. The “unlawful enemy combatants” consist of potential terrorists, who, even with no solid of their involvement in such conflicts, are forced to stay in prison. Bush used the crisis of terrorism, as Danforth and Abigail utilized the crisis of diabolism, to pass such unconstitutional acts as a means of security to the nation.
Most recently, a detainee in the prison of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on United States territory, is being held for the reason of being an "unlawful enemy combatant.” Although solid proof of the detainee’s, Omar Khadr, involvement in war crimes for his role in an attack on U.S. soldiers is nonexistent, he has been kept there since November of 2002. Similar to the “ipso facto” reason in The Crucible for allowing Danforth to keep “witches” within jail, the lack of validity of evidence against the detainee is pushed aside due to the crisis and need for security. Though no concrete proof holds him in Guantanamo, the current crisis was enough to call for action, in which the president enforced his power to contain the detainee from the Military Commissions Act.
Word count: 489
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-khadr9nov09,1,6141237.story?track=rss&ctrack=2&cset=true
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061017.html